Letters to the Editor

Vote for Kathy Dawes

I plan to vote for Kathy Dawes as soon as the polls open. You should too. Her resume is jam-packed with hope and healthy hard work details of how she “flunked” retirement by serving Latah County and beyond with her proven community leadership. She’s a retired eighth grade science teacher, lived and worked in Latah County for over 50 years, and has been a founding member of the Moscow Arts Commission, the Palouse Discovery Science Center and the Friends of Phillips Farm. She’s lifted up youth as a Girls Scouts leader, church youth group leader, and youth marimba band leader. As a member of the Latah County Parks Board she’s cared about our access to fresh air and fun.

If you want something done well, hire a teacher. I met Kathy at a recent meet and greet where she impressed me with her intelligence, passion, and kindness. Her background speaks of reaching across political barriers to bring about the common good. Did you know that she and her husband took precious retirement time to be “Science Guys” bringing bins of educational materials to rural classrooms for their enrichment? If all this isn’t enough, she is a trained moderator and ambassador for Braver Angels, which seeks to bridge the partisan divide and bring Idahoans together through civil discourse.

She’s spent her caring energy on us already proving her desire to make Idaho better through education, positive legislation and service. Bring in fresh leadership and elect Kathy Dawes for Idaho State House Seat 6B today!

Cynthia Muskat

Moscow

Vance’s real agenda

JD Vance is on record stating he would not have certified the 2020 election results had he been in Mike Pence’s position. During the vice presidential debate, Vance would not answer whether Trump had lost the election.

Dig deeper and it gets worse. You can watch Vance explain in his own words that he doesn’t believe that democracy can deliver the America he and his billionaire mentor, employer and biggest funder of his senate campaign want enacted. Hear him explain that conservatives need to wake up, to replace the “garbage elite American culture” and, as step 1, “rip out like a tumor the current political leadership class and replace it with some sense of American political religion.”

When the interview host asks him how that can happen when elections aren’t achieving that goal, Vance suggests a guy by the name of Curtis Yarvin has a program. You can see video of Yarvin’s more-than-just-weird notions, and watch Vance sane-wash them. For example, Vance says the Republicans need to get over their fears of wielding power. Yarvin says if Americans want to change their government, “they’re going to have to get over their dictator phobia.”

But wait, there’s more. Go watch Rachel Maddow lay out why you should care about JD Vance’s real agenda.

Karen Swoope

Colfax

Vote no on amendment to Idaho Constitiution

The Secretary of State sent out a Voter’s Guide Presidential Edition to Idahoans.

I read, with a lot of interest, the only two items discussed in the guide: Amendment to Idaho Constitution, HJR 5, and an explanation of the Open Primary Initiative, as it is commonly called.

I volunteered to collect signatures for the initiative and am very glad it will be on the ballot in November, and very concerned, if it passes, Mike Moyle will attempt to overturn the will of Idahoans.

HJR 5 is more complicated. It is Section 2, Article VI, of the Constitution of the State of Idaho Relating Qualifications of Electors. The section currently reads “Every male or female citizen of the United States, eighteen years old, who has resided in this state, and in the county where he or she offers to vote for the period provided by law, if registered as provided by law, is a qualified elector.”

The amendment reads, “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be a qualified elector in any election held within the state of Idaho.”

The amendment has a double negative and therefore says the same thing as the first sentence of Section 2 referenced above. Amending the constitution is a very serious endeavor and should only be considered when absolutely necessary.

I am not aware of a significant influx of immigrants, especially undocumented ones, who have voted in Idaho. If someone can point me in the right direction to see how many there are, I would appreciate it. Jim Jones, retired Idaho Supreme Court justice and former attorney general of Idaho, wrote a very detailed and accurate and compelling opinion on this subject. It is well worth the read. I read it originally in the Daily News and was able to bring it up again yesterday.

I urge electors/voters to vote no on Amendment to Constitution — HJR 5.

Kathy Weber

Moscow

They have kids’ best interests at heart

I think we can all agree that we want what is best for Idaho kids, not only our own but all the kids in our communities. The “Idaho Children Are Primary 2024 Kids Matter Index” rates our state legislators on their votes beneficial to our kids. All Democratic Idaho legislators scored 91% or higher while Republicans scored failing grades such as Brandon Mitchell’s 50% and Dan Foreman’s 36%.

We are extremely lucky to have fantastic Democratic alternatives running to replace our current failing state representatives. As a former teacher and community leader, we can be sure that Kathy Dawes has kids’ best interests at heart and that she will exceed 91% with her votes in the Idaho House.

As a nurse, Julia Parker has spent her career caring for people. I know Julia through service on Moscow city commissions. Her role as a Moscow city counselor has been to help make good things happen. She cuts to the chase and is practical about what we can do to improve life for Moscow residents. She epitomizes the expression “sensible leadership.”

Both Dawes and Parker support investing in public education to assure a “uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools,” and oppose voucher schemes that are fiscally irresponsible and take funds away from public schools. Both candidates also recognize climate change as a serious problem that we must address.

Join me in voting for Dawes and Parker — giving our kids the best opportunities is what we all want!

Al Poplawsky

Moscow

Dawes, Parker the right choices

Are you tired of out-of-state donors’ money pushing an extremist agenda? I sure am! Brandon Mitchell seems like a decent guy, but he has marched in lockstep with the extremists, while the ill-tempered Dan Foreman has an agenda even more extreme than the rest of his party.

Their opponents, Kathy Dawes and Julia Parker, have shown themselves to be thoughtful, measured and intelligent. As a teacher and a nurse respectively, they chose professions that benefit others. They are committed to working across the aisle, and eager to serve their constituents, even the ones they don’t agree with.

Kathy has more experience tracking and understanding legislation than anyone I know. For the past eight years, she’s been keeping a large number of community members informed on a variety of issues via email. She’s been active in the League of Women Voters, and in Braver Angels, which seeks to build relationships across political difference.

Julia, as a member of the Moscow City Council, has proved herself to be both level headed and solution focused. Her campaign is community-driven, and her criteria for making decisions seems eminently reasonable. She has pledged to look at who it hurts, who it helps, and how the hurt can be mitigated. She’ll also ask if the legislation is necessary, and how much it will cost.

District 6 deserves people to represent us who think independently, listen to actual Idahoans, and prioritize basic common sense. Please join me in voting for Kathy Dawes and Julia Parker.

Elizabeth Stevens

Moscow